Did Abraham exist?

[theosis]

What evidence outside of Genesis is there for the existence of a historical Abraham? What are the implications for theology of the Abrahamic religions if he did not exist?

A scholarly view:
"In Part I part Van Seters argues that there is no unambiguous evidence pointing to an origin for the stories in the 2nd millennium BC. "Arguments based on reconstructing the patriarch's nomadic way of life, the personal names in Genesis, the social customs reflected in the stories, and correlation of the traditions of Genesis with the archaeological data of the Middle Bronze Age have all been found, in Part One above, to be quite defective in demonstrating an origin for the Abraham tradition in the second millennium B.C."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_in_History_and_Tradition_(book)

 

[Sha'irullah]

Well truthfully speaking there is no evidence for Abraham's existence or the events that happened in regards to him but without a doubt Abraham's existence has been recorded in the form of myth.

All that can be said is that Abraham like so many myths associated with individuals has been used in regards to exemplify something. But most Judaic stories emanate from Sumerian or Akkadian fables strung with Jewish lore.

 

[arthra]

If you're familiar with Ugarit there is a king list with names similar to the Biblical names..

Ibiranu I.
Ya'dur Addu
Niqmepa II (ca 1600)
Ibiranu II
’Ammurapi I.
Niqmepa III
Ibiranu III
Niqmepa IV (ca 1500)
Ibiranu IV
Niqmaddu I.
Yaqaru
​

This is quite a suggestive list, though it is only one possible reconstruction of the available data. The following, therefore, should be taken as speculation rather than fact. What it does emphasize is that the names that appear in the bible are similar to the names of real kings who ruled Ugarit over a period of several centuries.


http://neros.lordbalto.com/ChapterFive.htm


Ugarit was believed to be a city up to the end of the twelfth century BCE


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugaritic_texts#Archaeology

You may need to copy paste these citations in your browser...

 

[Flankerl]

There is also no historical evidence for Abrahams two neighbours. But that doesnt mean that they didnt exist...

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

What evidence outside of Genesis is there for the existence of a historical Abraham?

Silly question.

What are the implications for theology of the Abrahamic religions if he did not exist?

Not mine.

 

[ChristineES]

I believe that Abraham existed. After all, if we go by the Bible, his descendants exist.

 

[theosis]

There is also no historical evidence for Abrahams two neighbours. But that doesnt mean that they didnt exist...

You would think that historical evidence would exist for the founder of a major religious tradition, no?

 

[Caladan]

What evidence outside of Genesis is there for the existence of a historical Abraham? What are the implications for theology of the Abrahamic religions if he did not exist?

Biblical protagonists and events deep into the past (before historically verified Biblical personas and events) will yield very little to no historical evidence. But that is not where we should look for their strength. Their strength is that the powerful narratives about these patriarchs have survived orally and also later in literature for countless of generations with each generation carrying the ideals to the next one. As for the implications? there are two answers that I can think of, to many people tradition is enough and no resounding lack of historical record is going to shake that, to other people the implications may depend on their type of religious psychology. Do they need every Biblical detail to have historical proof? do they even expect every Biblical detail to be history to the letter? or do they view parts of it more in the manner of collective memories of their people or of Biblical people?
There are too many variables. My impression is that if people have been brought up to believe the Bible is as literal as it gets, with no expectations from the reader to read between the line and understand ancient Judaic mindsets and ideals, a critical reading of the Bible may prove to be faith shaking. Such as in the case of no evidence for many Biblical events.
Other people are more generous in their approach to the Bible, and they understand the text may embody distant events which were wrapped in ideological writing, and a text which may also include metaphorical narratives.

The question is, of course, how far are you willing to stretch the lines. Are you willing to go into the mindset of the ancient scribes and leaders of Jerusalem? or have you concluded that the Bible has fallen one sunny day from the sky edited by Yahweh and co into every Church or Synagogue, complete and unspoiled?

 

[Flankerl]

You would think that historical evidence would exist for the founder of a major religious tradition, no?

No not at all.
It was perhaps a loose tribal community. With people who probably couldnt even write.

They werent a mighty empire or a major religion. Just some people being herdsmen traveling around.

Just because hundreds years later Moshe Rabeinu appeared, did his stuff which somehow ended in the conquest of territory and the establishment of tribal areas doesnt mean that there needs to be evidence for something that happened hundreds of years earlier.

 

[outhouse]

No not at all.
It was perhaps a loose tribal community. With people who probably couldnt even write.

They werent a mighty empire or a major religion. Just some people being herdsmen traveling around.

I think you underestimate their heritage.

I believe they were literate as a social group from the beginning, as displaces Canaanites would have had learned educated people within these groups.

The early religion wide and vast and diverse and still polytheistic, some traditions going back 1000 BC are identifiable. Such as the north and south traditons identified by El and Yahweh

I find Abraham a later creation as the people tried to identify itself after the Babylonian exile, bringing a lot of Mesopotamian influence back with them.

Hence his biblical origin.

 

[alviataylor]

Islam also describes of the existence of Abraham and the stories revolving around him..!

 

[nazz]

What evidence outside of Genesis is there for the existence of a historical Abraham?

none that I know of

What are the implications for theology of the Abrahamic religions if he did not exist?

none for me